City of Bones by Michael Connelly is Harry Bosch book 8 and book 11 in the Harry Bosch Universe that connects all Michael Connelly books. City of Bones is a slow-burn thriller that shows every detail of police procedure. We the reader know everything that Bosch knows when something unexpected happens we feel it with Bosch. The crime is personal for Bosch as he finds bones that belong to a child who was severely abused as Bosch was when he was a child. The pace is a bit slow but I found what was going on interesting as it looked into what goes into solving a cold case that happened 20 years before. The twists and turns make you think multiple people are the killer and happenstance and chance encounters play a part in the twists. The finale was satisfying but was not all that exciting. City of Bones balances the light and the dark, with Bosch starting a new relationship that makes him feel young again with the dark brutal murder of a child. This is the book that defined the Bosch and Chief Irving relationship that is portrayed so well in the show. The Bosch and Brasher relationship showed a happier side of Bosch that let some of the walls down that held up past relationships. This book was released less year after 9/11 and the event is mentioned in this book. City of Bones plot is one of the main plots for the first season of Bosch the Amazon Prime Tv Show. City of Bones was published on April 16, 2002.

Plot Summary: Bosch follows up on a report about a dog finding a human bone. He visits the home of a retired doctor who says he knows his bones and knows this is a human bone rather than an animal bone. Bosch is impressed by an eager rookie Julia Brasher who wants to assist in his investigation. Bosch investigates the hill where the dog found the bone and finds the body of a child. The body is dated anywhere from 1980 to 1984 as they work to narrow that down, which is 20 years from the present day 2002 when the book was written. Bosch must use all of his detective skills to give the body a name and solve the crime that happened 20 years to a young preteen boy.

What I Liked: How serious and insightful the police procedure of solving the cold case was. I loved the character of Bosch it was nice for him to be briefly happy and to let his guard down a little. I love the scene where Bosch came up with a way to out the leaker to the press from the department. The scene with Bosch and Jerry with the actor trying to be a detective, they used this scene for the show as well, but it was great. I like how clever Bosch was to find out one of the witnesses was lying. Redemption was a big part of the story it was nice to see Bosch’s idea of redemption change slightly to his view of no one truly seeks redemption, to him realizing a reason for a false confession was redemption. The Bosch and Irving relationship came to a head in this story and it was so good, both men want to stop crime but have different ways of doing it.

What I Disliked: The ending could have been more climactic, it was satisfying that the killer was probably going to get away with it and get his comeuppance, but I wanted more excitement. How the Bosch and Brasher relationship ended was unexpected but could have been told better, it seems like how it happened was dropped too early.

Recommendation: I liked this story a lot, I was not a fan of the other slow-burn novel The Last Coyote, but this book worked for me. The cold case was interesting with a lot of twists and turns that make the killer impossible to guess until the last moment. This is one of my favorite Harry Bosch stories falling right behind Angel’s Flight which is my favorite.

Rating: I rated City of Bones by Michael Connelly 4 out of 5 stars. This novel was very close to a 5-star rating. Harry Bosch Universe Book reading book order so far 1) the Black Echo, 2) The Black Ice, 3) The Concrete Blonde, 4) The Last Coyote, 5) The Poet, 6) Trunk Music, 7) Angels Flight, 8) Blood Work, 9)Void Moon ( I accidentally went out of order have not reviewed it yet) 10) A Darkness More Than Night and 11)City of Bones. The order in which I rank them from best to worst is 1) The Poet, 2) Angels Flight, 3) City of Bones, 4) Concrete Blonde, 5) The Black Ice, 6) A Darkness More Than Night, 7) Trunk Music, 8) The Last Coyote, 9) Blood Work, and 10) The Black Echo.